The Mongols were among the most divided and impoverished peoples of the steppe, subsisting in the harsh north with meager resources and constant infighting, before their unlikely unification.
While southern steppe clans thrived on trade with China, the Mongols subsisted in the harsh northern forests, hunting small game and gathering pine nuts. They were deeply divided, with no central leadership and constant inter-tribal warfare. ✦ AI generated
Paul Cooper · Fall of Civilizations · 2025-04-02 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 39:30
In contrast, for much of their history, the Mongols were among the losers of the steppe world. While other nomads thrived on the southern grasslands, the Mongols subsisted in the harsh north, on the edge of the mountains and the endless Siberian forests... They had no chief or ruler. Each tribe lived separately. They were not united with one another, and there was constant fighting and hostility between them. Their clothing was of the skins of dogs and mice, and their food was the flesh of those animals and other dead things.
verbatim transcript · starts at 39:30
39:24and sheep, and majestic tame hunting birds like the golden eagle, taken from the forest as fledglings and trained to hunt small game. But above all, they traded the thing that settled societies needed most and nomads had in enormous supply; horses. As a result, these clans in the south of the Mongolian steppe, like the Tartars and the Kereyit, were richer and lived more comfortable lives, and they defended
40:00their enviable positions with extreme ferocity. In contrast, for much of their history, the Mongols were among the losers of the steppe world. While other nomads thrived on the southern grasslands, the Mongols subsisted in the harsh north, on the edge of the mountains and the endless Siberian forests, home to wolves, bears, and wild forest peoples like the Merkit. Here, the grasses were meager and couldn't support large herds. As a result, the Mongols supplemented their diets
40:39by hunting deer and small mammals like marmots, gathering pine nuts in the forests, and fishing in the rivers. The medieval Persian historian, Ata-Malik Juvaini, writes about the sorry state of this people. They had no chief or ruler. Each tribe lived separately. They were not united with one another, and there was constant fighting and hostility between them. Their clothing was of the skins of dogs and mice, and their food was the flesh of those animals and other
41:19dead things. Their wine was mares’ milk, and their dessert the fruit of a tree shaped like a pine. The sign of a great king amongst them was that his stirrups were made of iron. From that, one can form a picture of their other luxuries. Part of the reason for their poor situation was that the Mongols were among the most divided peoples of the steppe, constantly fighting amongst themselves.